Villages to get new phone lines<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government expects to complete by the end of the year the
\ninstallation of some 3,500 new fixed telephone lines in rural
\nareas across the country, which is the second phase of a Rp 475
\nbillion (US$51.26 million) telecommunications project.<\/p>\n
\"The government has allocated Rp 45 billion to finance this
\nsecond phase. Sixty percent of the new lines will be installed in
\nvillages in eastern Indonesia,\" the Ministry of Communications'
\nDirector General of Post and Telecommunication Djamhari Sirat
\nsaid on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Djamhari expects that starting from the third phase next year
\nuntil completion, the government will have additional funds from
\nphone operators to meet the target of providing at least one
\nfixed line for each of around 43,000 villages across the country
\nthat have yet to obtain access to phone services.<\/p>\n
\"Telecom operators will be obliged to allocate 0.75 percent of
\ntheir annual revenue to finance the project. We're still waiting
\nfor a presidential decree to regulate this obligation. Hopefully,
\nit will be issued before the third phase starts next year,\"
\nDjamhari said.<\/p>\n
This year's installation is the second after the government
\nestablished 3,010 fixed lines last year. A total of 1,009 lines
\nwere installed on Sumatra island, 40 lines in Banten province,
\n573 lines in Kalimantan and 1,388 across eastern parts of the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
The first installation was conducted by PT Pasifik Satelit
\nNusantara, which used Portable Fixed Satellite technology, and PT
\nCitra Sari Makmur, which used Very Small Aperture Terminal
\ntechnology.<\/p>\n
Susilo Hartono, the director of telecommunications and
\ninformation at the ministry, said the government was conducting
\nauctions to decide which companies would carry out the second-
\nphase installment.<\/p>\n
He added that for the second phase, the government planned to
\nalso use new technologies such as radio, cellular and internet
\nprotocol due to geographical considerations.<\/p>\n
The telecommunications project -- which was first announced on
\nAug. 19, 2003 -- is part of the implementation of the Universal
\nService Obligation (USO) program aimed at providing telephone
\nservices for all citizens.<\/p>\n
The USO program was agreed upon during the International
\nTelecommunications Union (ITU) conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in
\n1995, when all countries were urged to provide their citizens
\nwith basic telecommunications facilities.<\/p>\n
The USO program will run in two stages. The first stage is
\nfrom 2003 to 2010 where the government must establish at least
\none fixed line in each village, while the second is the
\ndevelopment of facilities.<\/p>\n
The program could be the only hope for millions of people in
\nremote villages to gain access to the outside world as existing
\nphone operators seem reluctant to provide phone access in such
\nareas due to the likely very low investment return.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/villages-to-get-new-phone-lines-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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